Observatori BCN 2016: City more competitive on economic and social rankings

• The report compares the Catalan capital with other large metropolises around the world
• Barcelona is the 5th most attractive city in Europe for international investment 

Observatori Barcelona 2016, which is in its 14th edition this year, is a joint initiative of the Barcelona City Council and the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce. The report compares the city with other large metropolises around the world and shows that the Catalan capital is becoming increasingly competitive with large global cities.

The report includes information from the Global Power City Index 2016 compiled by the Institute for Urban Strategies, which shows that Barcelona has moved up in the ranking of the most competitive cities, going from 26th to 20th, ahead of cities like Brussels, San Francisco and Chicago, on the ranking led by London, which is followed by New York and Tokyo.

Likewise, in the City Rep Track report by the Reputation Institute, Barcelona is currently ranked 14th in terms of cities with the best reputation, above Amsterdam, San Francisco and Tokyo. City Rep Track is led by Sydney, Vienna and Zurich. Additionally, the Global Cities Investment Monitor 2016, by KPMG, ranks Barcelona as the 20th area in the world in terms of greenfield projects to attract foreign investment between 2012 and 2016, with the same weight within Spain (36%) as London has in the United Kingdom.

Furthermore, the Cities and Regions of the Future 2016/2017 (FDI) highlights Barcelona as the most efficient large urban area in attracting foreign investment and ranks it the 3rd best city in southern Europe and 10th best in connectivity. The Attractiveness Survey Europe by Ernst & Young ranks Barcelona the 5th most attractive city in Europe for international investment, surpassed only by London, Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam.

Of the thirty rankings included in the Observatori Barcelona 2016, the Catalan capital is the number one port in number of cruise passengers. Barcelona is at the top of the city rankings by number of congresses held (3rd) behind Berlin and Paris, and in terms of metropolises associated with sport (3rd), even beating out the latest city to host the Olympics, Rio de Janeiro.